Permission to look elsewhere, Jaguars' assistant coaches are told

'Realistically, if I was a betting man, I’d say [we’re gone],' one Jags assistant says

Jaguars assistant head coach/quarterbacks coach Greg Olson(from left), tight ends coach Bobby Johnson and head coach Mike Mularkey motion to players against the Raiders in a game on Oct. 21 in Oakland, Calif. The entire Jaguars coaching staff is now facing an uncertain future

Jaguars coach Mike Mularkey told his assistant coaches Friday they are free to pursue other job opportunities, a sign more changes are coming after owner Shad Khan hires a new general manager.

Mularkey said earlier in the week the staff was all under contract for 2013 so permission needed to be granted if another NFL or college team called to request an interview.

Now the coaches are free to make their own calls.

“Realistically, if I was a betting man, I’d say [we’re gone],” a Jaguars assistant coach said. “I don’t think there’s any other way you can look at it, and I’m an eternal optimist.”

The coaching staff went on vacation Tuesday and is scheduled to return to the EverBank Field offices on Wednesday.

It has been assumed Khan will give the new general manager the power to keep Mularkey or go in another direction.

The source said Mularkey met with Khan to ask him about the staff’s status.

“I guess Shad was non-committal,” the staff member said. “Mike had to let Shad know that by doing this [delaying], he’s hurting our opportunities to get other jobs.”

Asked what this means for Mularkey, the staffer said: “To me, Shad doesn’t want to handcuff the incoming GM, but Mike is holding a glimmer of hope.”

Among the coordinators and position coaches, Mularkey kept four coaches from Jack Del Rio’s staff and hired seven new coaches. A standard contract for a position coach is two years, but some NFL coordinators receive three-year deals.

Meanwhile, Khan continued his general manager search Friday.

A source confirmed Khan conducted an interview, believed to be with New York Giants director of college scouting Marc Ross.

Ross joins David Caldwell and Tom Gamble, the director of player personnel for Atlanta and San Francisco, respectively, as those whose talks with Khan have been confirmed.

The Ross interview means the Jaguars have complied with the “Rooney Rule” requiring teams to speak with at least one minority candidate.

Caldwell has met twice with Khan this week.

Arizona vice president of player personnel also Steve Keim continues to be linked to the Jaguars.

There is growing belief around the league that Caldwell will ultimately be Khan’s choice. None of the five other NFL teams looking for a general manager has made a hire yet.

Mularkey is gone. The fact that assistants currently under contract have been told that they may contact other teams speaks volumes. During the course of the GM interviews, it is a cinch that candidates' plans for the future and their vision for rebuilding the franchise have been discussed. Probably no GM worth hiring will want to be stuck with the staff from a 2-14 season.

Say what you want about the level of talent on the roster, even the expansion Jaguars won four games with a group of players other teams saw as expendable.

Until the last 5 or 6 games, I thought MM would definitely get a 2nd year. But, we played some other lousy teams (Bills, Jets, Dolphins, Titans) and were awful. The pattern of playing worse as the game progressed and completely collapsing in the 3rd Q and second half is a sign of bad coaching in my view. So, MM put himself right on the hotseat. We need someone who players will fear a little bit. He is just like Del Rio. Buddy buddy with these guys, wants to be liked by them, and will never scream at them during a game and show some intensity. The guys who are successful look intense during the games. The guys who look like they are listening to smooth jazz on their headsets generally suck.

It is strange that so many people are so concerned about a football team, that it will make them feel better as a person if they win. Most psychologists would label these types of people as being insecure.

One group that made noticeable improvement as the season progressed was the wide receivers (those that managed to avoided IR). I think Jerry Sullivan (WR coach) should be given a chance to hang around.

Mularkey was 14-18 in his two seasons at Buffalo. Granted he was given a bunch of underachievers to work with, but he was NOT what this team needs. His coaching staff is clueless and should look elsewhere for employment. While Gene Smith, Shack Harris and Del Rio must share culpability in the Jag's downfall, Mularkey as head coach showed little abilaity to lift this team out of the cellar. Giving him a second season would result in zero wins and the loss of many season tix holders... The ball is in Khan's court, do we sink further w/Mularkey or find some real coaching leadership to keep this once proud franchise afloat?